[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 130 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3730-S3731]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to consider H.R. 2670, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 2670) to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
     year 2024 for military activities of the Department of 
     Defense and for military construction, and for defense 
     activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
     personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
     purposes.

  Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, a substitute 
amendment, which is the text of S. 2226, as passed, is agreed to; the 
bill, as amended, is considered read a third time and passed; and the 
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.
  The amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was agreed to.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The bill (H.R. 2670), as amended, was passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, S. 2226 is 
indefinitely postponed.
  The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I now would like to congratulate my 
colleagues in the Senate for passing a very important National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
  I see that my distinguished chairman has come back to the floor, and 
I want to thank him for his cooperation. I want to thank every member 
of the committee and every Member of the Senate for their cooperation. 
As the public has learned, we do much of this through unanimous 
consent, and it is a tribute that we have gotten as far as we have and 
it is July 27, with another full 2 months to go before the end of the 
fiscal year. I think we are on the right track.
  This year's National Defense Authorization Act will help meet the 
dangerous national security moment we face. It will equip our military 
with many of the tools necessary to implement the national defense 
strategy.
  Every year, as has been mentioned, we pass the NDAA. This is the 63rd 
time we have done so, and it is a lasting, continual testament to 
Congress's commitment to our servicemembers and our security.
  To be sure, our threats are much greater than they were back in 1961 
when the first NDAA passed. Today, the United States faces undoubtedly 
the most complex and dangerous security situation since World War II.
  This year's NDAA is an important step forward in our quest to build 
our arsenal. Ideally, we would have an annual 3 to 5 percent boost 
above inflation to our top line. We were not able to come to an 
agreement on that, but even without that budget increase, our committee 
has advanced a strong, bipartisan product that contains numerous 
important provisions. Let me summarize just a few.
  The bill authorizes a 5.2-percent pay raise for servicemembers and 
includes a host of other quality-of-life improvements for our troops 
and their families.
  The bill also contains provisions that will help the military solve 
its recruiting crisis.
  We include a massive expansion of the Junior ROTC Program, a 
citizenship builder in our high schools. We also included support for 
our submarine programs. We need to do more in that regard.
  The legislation addresses the ongoing maintenance delays by sending 
funds to our shipyards. It expands our deterrent capabilities with a 
sea-launched nuclear cruise missile and allows us to make good on our 
commitments to the United Kingdom and Australia, commonly referred to 
as the AUKUS agreement.
  The bill makes six more munitions eligible for the all-important 
multiyear procurement contracts. These multiyear commitments send a 
clear signal to our industrial base. And we will produce these arms at 
home, here in the United States, equipping American troops with 
American-made weapons and ammunition.
  Notably, we have fully authorized the construction of the next 
amphibious ship, the LPD-33.
  Our committee realizes military competition in the 21st century will 
be decided by our willingness to harness emerging technology. This NDAA 
accelerates the development of artificial intelligence, offensive 
cyber, hypersonics, and unmanned platforms. Because we intend to lap 
Beijing in the 100-year innovation marathon, we are authorizing a new 
Pentagon authority with the Office of Strategic Capital.
  As always, partnerships with our allies act as a force multiplier on 
all the tools we are providing American soldiers. I am glad this bill 
enhances security cooperation with allies in every part of the free 
world, from the Baltics to the Pacific.
  Starting in January, the Armed Services Committee held countless 
hearings, briefings, and oversight hearings of the Department. This is 
one of the most encompassing bills as a result of our work, which began 
in January. The committee mark included 1,217 provisions. Of that, 504 
were the result of member inputs. During the committee markups, an 
additional 240 amendments were considered.
  Throughout the process, my colleague and teammate, Senator Jack Reed 
of Rhode Island, has been a gentleman in every way and a patriot, as 
demonstrated by his service in the military and his service in the 
House and Senate. I thank him for helping to make this process 
exceedingly smooth.
  To take a moment, let me thank the following staff members who were 
so essential in getting this done smoothly and efficiently: Rick 
Berger, Brendan Gavin, James Mazol, Greg Lilly, Brad Patout, Olivia 
Trusty, Eric Trager, Adam Trull, Kevin Kim, Adam Barker, Sean O'Keefe, 
Katie Magnus, Isaac Jalkanen, Eric Lofgren, Kristina Belcourt, Pat 
Thompson, Katie Romaine, Travis Brundrett, Jack Beyrer, and Philip 
Waller. And all of these people on my side of the dais were led 
effectively by a veteran staff member from the House and Senate, my 
staff director, John Keast. Thank you to all of these people.
  Thank you once again to my colleague Senator Reed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, first, let me commend Senator Wicker, the 
ranking member, for his extraordinary cooperation, thoughtfulness, and 
insight throughout this entire process. As a result, this evening, we 
passed in an overwhelming vote a bipartisan piece of legislation that 
confronts the challenges we face today in a very, very difficult world.
  The first thing we did was we took care of the troops. We have a 5.2-
percent increase in pay--one of the largest in decades. We also took 
care of the troops by investing in the best possible platforms in 
technology in many dimensions--underwater submarines, in the air. We 
are recapitalizing our triad for nuclear deterrence. We are looking 
closely at space, what we can do there both to defend ourselves and 
prevent space from undermining our national security. All of these 
things were done on a collaborative basis. Hundreds of amendments were 
considered in both the committee and here on the floor. As a result, we 
have legislation that I think we are all very, very proud of.
  I would also like to thank and commend Leader Schumer and Leader 
McConnell because they allowed us to conduct a very open process on the 
floor, to entertain amendments, to work closely so that we could have 
the conclusion we did this evening--- a strong, strong bipartisan vote.
  I am confident that what we have done will provide the Department of 
Defense and our military men and women with the resources they need to 
meet and overcome the challenges of a dangerous world.
  Like my colleague, I recognize that the work of others made our work 
much easier. Indeed, the work of our staffs made this bill possible. So 
let me thank first my staff director, Elizabeth King, and I also thank 
John Keast, the staff director to Senator Wicker, who has done an 
extraordinary job. Together, they are a formidable team and also 
consummate professionals.
  As my colleague has done, let me recognize the staff members on my 
side of the aisle: Jody Bennett, who made a very strong contribution to 
this effort, Carolyn Chuhta, Jon Clark, Jenny Davis, Jonathan Epstein, 
Jorie Feldman, Kevin Gates, Creighton Greene,

[[Page S3731]]

Gary Leeling, Kirk McConnell, Maggie McNamara Cooper, Bill Monahan, 
Mike Noblet, John Quirk, Andy Scott, Cole Stevens, Isabelle Picciotti, 
Alison Warner, Leah Brewer, Megan Lustig, Joe Gallo, Brittany Amador, 
Griffin Cannon, Sofia Kamali, Chad Johnson, Jessica Lewis, Vannary 
Kong, Noah Sisk, Zachary Volpe, and once again my staff director, 
Elizabeth King, who deserves great credit for this.
  Let me also thank the floor staff and the leadership staff who have 
been part of this process and who have been able to keep our floor open 
so we could conclude this bill.
  This is an important, important step. Now I look forward to joining 
my colleague Senator Wicker and our colleagues in the committee to go 
to conference to work out a bill that we can support as vigorously on a 
bipartisan basis as we have this Senate legislation.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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